Stephen Curry shoots one-over 71 in first round of Web.com event

Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s goal was to post a better score than the 74s he carded at last year’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward. He did it Thursday, posting a 1-over-par 71.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s goal was to post a better score than the 74s he carded at last year’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward. He did it Thursday, posting a 1-over-par 71.

Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s goal was to post a better score than the 74s he carded at last year’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward. He did it Thursday, posting a 1-over-par 71.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s goal was to post a better score than the 74s he carded at last year’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward. He did it Thursday, posting a 1-over-par 71.

Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

Stephen Curry shoots one-over 71 in first round of Web.com event

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At one point during Thursday’s foray into tournament golf, Warriors guard Stephen Curry hit a tee shot less-than-perfectly. His ball still found the fairway, prompting one Web.com Tour pro in his group, Martin Trainer, to say, “Hey, good shot.”

Curry muttered in response, clearly displeased.

“He was not having any of it,” Trainer said later, smiling. “He was upset, just because he’s very competitive. He’s a perfectionist.”

This begins to explain how Curry scrambled, scraped and stitched together an impressive opening round at the Ellie Mae Classic in Hayward. He shot 1-over-par 71, thanks to the equivalent of a spirited, fourth-quarter rally.

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry talks about his opening-round 71 at the Ellie Mae Classic in Hayward.

Media: SFChronicle

Curry started sluggishly and stood 4-over through 11 holes, with no birdies. He was in danger of disappearing, an understandable outcome while competing in a field of professionals one step removed from the PGA Tour.

Then, abruptly, Curry shifted into another gear. He played his final seven holes in 3-under, finding his rhythm as if he were launching uncontested three-point shots in the NBA Finals.

Curry wanted to post a lower score than he did in last year’s tournament at TPC Stonebrae, when he shot 74-74. Thursday’s mid-round rejuvenation allowed him to achieve his goal.

So what changed?

“I hit fairways, which for me has been a struggle,” Curry said. “I had been hitting out of the rough all the time and scrambling. You put a little extra stress on yourself. I started hitting fairways and greens and just keeping it easy.”

Curry’s best shot came on No. 8, his 17th hole of the day. He had made birdie on the previous hole, to reach 2-over, and then he smacked his drive straight and true on the par-4.

That left him 148 yards away. He lofted a 9-iron shot, watched it sail toward the pin and heard caddie Jonnie West whisper/plead, “Be as good as you look!”

That worked out nicely: Curry’s shot landed a few inches from the hole, bounced off the flagstick and stopped about 4 feet away. He made the putt for his second consecutive birdie.

“I heard the pin rattle — that was a cool moment,” Curry said. “I didn’t know how close it landed, but when I walked up there, I literally was an inch away from dunking it. Out here, I don’t get many dunks.”

Curry gave himself a great chance to finish at even-par 70. On No. 9 (his 18th hole), a par-5, his second shot scooted to the back of the green. But he 3-putted from about 40 feet and settled for a disappointing par.

Curry still faces long odds of making the cut. The low 65 players (and ties) will advance to the weekend, and Curry stood tied for 106th in the 156-man field.

He probably needs to shoot 67, at worst, on Friday to have a chance. That’s a lot to ask of an NBA player who treats golf essentially as a passionate hobby.

“I know I’ve got to go pretty low,” Curry said. “But the way I played on the back nine (Thursday), hopefully I can make a couple more putts and who knows?”

History is not on Curry’s side in his quest to make the cut. He’s the 11th current or former pro athlete from another sport to play on the Web.com Tour, and none of the other 10 came close to making the cut.

Only two of those 10 broke par in any one round. Former major-league pitcher Ralph Terry (at age 54) shot 71 in the 1990 Dakota Dunes Open, and onetime NHL goalie Grant Fuhr shot 70 in the 2008 Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.

Curry’s presence drew a sizable gallery to TPC Stonebrae on Thursday, though it was probably smaller than last year’s crowd. He played alongside Trainer (who shot 69) and Cameron Champ (68), two of the top players on the Web.com Tour this season.

Their group tees off at 2:26 p.m. in Friday’s second round. That’s the last time of the day, so Curry will know what score he needs to make the cut.

It’s still a long shot, but Trainer gives Curry at least a fighting chance after watching Thursday’s round.

“I thought he was one of those scrappy, country-club guys who occasionally shoots under par,” Trainer said. “But he was legit — he hits it far, he hits it high. He has a real pro’s game.

“Obviously, it’s not as sharp, just because he probably doesn’t play that much. But I was very impressed.”